New York State Gave $2.6 Million to Build a Food Greenhouse that Pays One Dollar Above the Minimum Wage In April of this year, Green Empire Farms in the central New York city of Oneida became notorious as the location of more than 170 Covid-19 cases. The facility is a massive 2.8 million square foot greenhouse where vegetables and fruit, including strawberries and cucumbers, are produced. County health officials believe that the outbreak occurred […]
New York’s Amazon Debacle – Some Lessons Predictably, Amazon’s decision to abandon its HQ2 project with 25,000+ future jobs in New York City led to acrimony with opposing politicians and some commentators blaming the company for abandoning its effort. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, an early project opponent tried to re-frame her stance saying, “We do not have to settle for scraps in the […]
Amazon HQ2 – A Good Deal for New York? It is not surprising that the decision by Governor Cuomo to give Amazon $1.8 billion in grants and refundable tax credits to come to New York City for half of their second headquarters generated controversy. Some have questioned the need to subsidize Amazon given New York’s labor pool advantages[1], and the amount of money given […]
Nexgen in Syracuse – Throwing Good Money after Bad? Update: Note that the Syracuse Post Standard carried the following article on January 4th: http://www.syracuse.com/business-news/index.ssf/2018/01/ny_taxpayers_built_90m_factory_in_dewitt_for_firm_that_walked_away_didnt_create.html The article quotes ESD spokesman Jason Conwell. “Conwall said the grant will be contingent on the company meeting its job commitments. Details of the grant’s terms will not be available until the grant disbursement agreement is executed later this month, but they […]
President Trump to Upstate Residents: Move to Wisconsin Recently, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, President Trump suggested that upstate New York residents should leave the state for Wisconsin, where a new Foxconn LCD display panel manufacturing plant will be located, creating at least 3,000 jobs. President Trump said, “I said, you know, Gary, you go to certain sections and you’re going […]
Syracuse’s Empty Film Hub The New York Times carried an article, “Cuomo’s $15 Million High-Tech Film Studio? It’s a Flop,”[1] on August 22nd. The article points out that the Central New York Hub for Emerging Nano Industries, owned by the Fort Schuyler Management Corporation (FSMC), a non-profit subsidiary of the SUNY Research Foundation, is largely vacant, and has housed […]
Rex Smith’s Albany Times-Union Column, “Development Dollars Draw on Politics” The Albany Times-Union carried a column by its Editor, Rex Smith on August 6th, concerning decision making by NewYork’s Regional Economic Development Councils, questioning whether their efforts are directed at areas of the state with greatest need. His column may be found here. The column draws on research that I recently published on this site. It […]
New York’s Ineffective Business Tax Incentives In 1987, New York State enacted legislation to create an Economic Development Zones Program, modelled after the enterprise zones concept, championed by Congressman Jack Kemp. Proponents argued that by reducing taxes in specific geographic areas with high concentrations of poverty and unemployment, existing firms would be more likely to create jobs, and other firms would […]
SolarCity: The Risk Embedded in Buffalo’s Billion .pdf version here: Note: This post is also published on The Empire Center website. The decision by the nation’s largest solar panel provider to locate a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Buffalo, and to create other jobs in Western New York, could be a needed shot in the arm for a city and a region that’s […]
